SE Asia Stocks-Largely up; Philippines bounces back from early falls

Reuters Staff

3 Min Read

By Sandhya Sampath
March 6 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian stock markets ended
higher on Monday, in line with Asian peers, as investors weighed
the near-certain prospect of an interest rate hike in the United
States this month.
Philippine shares came off early falls to close
almost 1 percent higher with broad-based gains.
They fell over Fed rate hike worries in early trade, but
"sentiment sort of reversed" in the second half, said Victor
Felix, an equity analyst with AB Capital Securities.
Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen on Friday all but
confirmed market expectations for an interest rate rise in March
barring any sharp deterioration in economic conditions.
"Maybe investors are optimistic about the U.S. growth
outlook. The GDP data is slated to be released later this week,
which might be a reason for the shift."
The United States is likely to grow in a range of 2.1
percent to 2.5 percent in each quarter this year, a Reuters poll
showed, unchanged since the January poll.
"This morning was also a knee-jerk reaction to North Korea's
ballistic missile test," said Felix.
North Korea fired four ballistic missiles on Monday, days
after it promised retaliation over U.S.-South Korea military
drills it sees as a preparation for war.
Financials and consumer stocks were the biggest boost, with
Ayala Land Inc and SM Investments Corp gaining
0.6 percent and 2.1 percent, respectively.
The Philippine Central Bank said there may be no need for it
to adjust monetary policy at the moment as the market seems to
have already priced in a possible Fed rate hike.
Malaysian shares climbed 1.1 percent to their
highest close since April 15, 2016, led by financials, while
Thai shares fell for a second consecutive session with
energy stocks taking the biggest hit.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
was up 2.4 points as of 0953 GMT.
For Asian Companies click;
SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS: Change on day
Market Current Previous Close Pct Move
Singapore 3121.51 3122.34 -0.03
Bangkok 1553.61 1566.2 -0.80
Manila 7313.87 7247.12 0.92
Jakarta 5409.817 5391.215 0.35
Kuala Lumpur 1727.36 1708.38 1.11
Ho Chi Minh 716.29 712.62 0.52
Change on year
Market Current End 2016 Pct Move
Singapore 3121.51 2880.76 8.36
Bangkok 1553.61 1542.94 0.69
Manila 7313.87 6840.64 6.9
Jakarta 5409.817 5296.711 2.14
Kuala Lumpur 1727.36 1641.73 5.22
Ho Chi Minh 716.29 664.87 7.7
(Reporting by Sandhya Sampath; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)